Cardinal
The Cardinal is a common summoning magic spell used as a sub-weapon by Maria Renard that involves twin cardinals being released into the air. One moves upward diagonally in one direction, while the other goes in the other direction. They then return to her. The Cardinals are smaller forms of the Suzaku, the great Vermilion Sparrow (Vermilion is a shade of red-orange). The Cardinal's item crash releases Suzaku himself, whose effect varies by game. Suzaku was originally the Chinese constellation Zhuque, and is associated with the direction South, the season Summer, and the element of Fire. This is not to be confused with a Phoenix bird, which is also related to fire. Game specific information ''Castlevania: Rondo of Blood In the original ''Rondo of Blood, one bird is released at about 45° straight upward in one direction, then the other is released 45° in the other direction. They then return following the same path unless Maria has moved. This is the smallest amount of Hearts used by Maria for a sub-weapon and deals out a small amount of damage as well. It is found in the same locations where a Dagger is found for Richter Belmont. Its item crash involves a giant red bird grabbing Maria by the shoulders and then it proceeds to call forth a field of flaming piercing feathers from the sky in a downward-diagonal direction. ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'' (Saturn) The red bird in the Sega Saturn version of Symphony of the Night is not a sub-weapon and does not resemble the bird found in Rondo of Blood. Instead, it is a spell that Maria can use at any time. Maria calls upon the spirit of Suzaku the Vermilion Bird (whose symbol flashes by) which summons an owl (Suzaku) familiar. This owl can perches on her shoulder briefly after being summoned and follows her around the castle. Whenever Maria attacks using a normal energy blast, it attacks by charging in a straight line forwards and slightly downwards. Maria can summon owls up to two. ''Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Juste Belmont can also summon the Phoenix in ''Harmony of Dissonance by combining the Summoning Tome with the Dagger subweapon. When cast, a giant Phoenix will descend from the sky and unleash a rain of blade-sharp feathers to fall all over the screen. ''Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Maria's Cardinals shoot up at a higher angle than in Rondo of Blood (about 60 degrees), and then make an arc above her head, then returning to her head at a steep angle. The two birds together trace out a heart-shape path. The difference in angles is probably due to the fact that Maria's Doves themselves travel at about a 45 degree upwards angle in this game. The birds deal fire damage to enemies. There are no item crashes in this game. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'' (The Dracula X Chronicles) In this game, during a regular attack, Maria steps faces forwards (towards the player) with her head bowed and her legs crossed while massive flaming wings sprout from her back for several seconds, burning anything in an upwards and diagonal direction in both direction. In the item crash, after the symbol of the Vermilion Bird Suzaku appears and disappears, an armored great bird appears behind her and shoots a series of meteors in an arc above and below her that roughly meet at a point in front of her. ''Castlevania Judgment In the 3-D fighting game ''Judgment, Maria can call Suzaku's name and it imbues her owl with flames. The owl perched inside Maria's cage staff flies and spins Maria around, leaving a large trail of flames in its path. ''Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Maria's vermilion bird is referred to by its Chinese name in this game, Zhue Que. The birds movements is altered from what it was in Portrait of Ruin. The birds are released in their normal 60 degree angle, but then loop around over her head and swoop down and away from her. Item Data Gallery Artworks Suzaku.png|'Red Bird''' from the Japanese Rondo of Blood instruction booklet Maria Renard - Grimoire of Souls - 01.png|Maria and her four sacred beasts from Grimoire of Souls Animations Sub-weapon POR Phoenix.gif|'Phoenix' from Portrait of Ruin DXC Cardinal.gif|'Cardinal' from The Dracula X Chronicles SOTN Cardinal.gif|'Cardinal' from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night J Suzaku Call Maria.gif|'Suzaku Call' from Judgment HD Zhu Que.gif|'Zhu Que' from Harmony of Despair Item Crash Saturn Suzaku.gif|'Suzaku' from the Sega Saturn version of Symphony of the Night HOD Knife + Summoning Tome.gif|Dagger + Summoning Tome from Harmony of Dissonance DXC Cardinal 2.gif|'Cardinal' Item Crash from The Dracula X Chronicles SOTN Cardinal 2.gif|'Cardinal' Item Crash from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night Category:Fire Spells Category:Summoning Spell Category:Dracula X Chronicles Items Category:Harmony of Despair Items Category:Judgment Items Category:Rondo of Blood Items Category:Symphony of the Night Items